ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020025
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
OUTDOORS
Maybe the big Briery Creek Lake bass was nearsighted. Or just hungry.
Either way, two fishing buddies, DeWayne and DeWitt Breeden, had it on their lines at the same time.
The Breedens, from Elkton, were working Bass Assassin worms - purple with green tails - in the 845-acre, state-owned lake near Farmville, when the bass moved from one bait to the next, gobbling up both of them.
It didn't fight that much, the Breedens said. After all, what could you expect from a fish that was being double teamed? But at the PC Pullover store, it weighed 15 pounds. The fish had a malformation of the eye, which obviously didn't keep if from eating enough to pile on the pounds.
The catch came just as fishermen were reporting that the Briery Creek bass action had slowed. Now, it appears that the bass only were resting. This past weekend, there was a flurry of trophy-size bass catches in addition to the Breedens' trophy. William Chassin of Richmond weighed one that was 14 pounds. Bruce Source of Elkton got a 12-pounder. George Brown of Chesapeake took an 113/4-pounder and Frank Denaro of Farmville landed a 10-pound, 6-ounce bass.
Fishermen are coming from all points of the compass to cast for Briery Creek's big bass, which began showing up in eye-popping numbers last spring. By this time last year, the big-fish catches had ended.
This season, the action has been spread out over a longer period, but it has been an on-and-off affair.
``They hit, and they cool off, and they hit again,'' said Sandra Fore, who operates Worsham Grocery, where many of the fish are weighed. ``I guess the weather has something to do with it,'' she said.
The bass currently are on their beds, Fore said. At least, the 14-pounder landed by Chassin was a bedding bass. Chassin reported working with it for more than an hour before enticing it to hit a lizard.
The largest bass from the lake is a 15-pound, 14-ounce fish landed last season. With it came the expectation that the 16-pound, 4-ounce state record, from Lake Conner in 1985, would be broken, but it hasn't happened. The largest this season is a 15-pound, 8-ounce trophy, which was weighed and released.
STRIPER SEASON: Striped bass fishing in the Chesapeake Bay keeps getting better.
``All the stock assessments indicate the population is increasing. It continues to build,'' said Lewis Gillingham of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
For most fishermen, the fishery is a fall affair, a chance to catch fish that have migrated down the coast and turned into the bay.
``That's when the fish are schooled up and are the easiest to catch,'' said Gillingham.
But there is a spring season, too. The early portion, which opened Wednesday and continues through May 15, is a trophy season when anglers can take advantage of the big fish that have spawned and are moving out of the bay.
The rules are restrictive: one striper per day that is 32 inches or more in length. The catch must be reported on forms available at tackle shops and marinas.
Most fishermen are yet to embrace this season. More popular is the second spring season, from mid-May to mid-June, when a slot limit is enforced, allowing the taking of two stripers between 18 and 28 inches. Charter boats out of the Reedville-Deltaville area are geared to chase spring stripers.
The fall season - most popular of all - is scheduled Oct. 17-Dec. 31.
BRAGGING SIZE:Harold Halterman of Harrisonburg landed one of the biggest stripers of the Smith Mountain Lake season, a 31-pound, 6-ounce trophy. He reported catching it on a shad. Nine-year-old Derrick Hughes, of Ebensburg, Pa., won the Smith Mountain Lake Striper Club contest with a 21.2-pound fish.
Tom Starky of Covington caught an 8.13-pound largemouth at Lake Moomaw. Starky also caught bass weighing 7.5 pounds and 3.5 pounds. Mark Walton of Covington landed a 5.46-pound rainbow from Moomaw and Johnny Schafer of Iron Gate weighed in a 6.66 brown trout.
Dwight Lovell of Pearisburg caught a 23 1/2-pound flathead catfish from the New River.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB